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News/Updates
August 15, 2019

Stories of Subversion, Resistance, and Acceptance: Challenging Gender Stereotypes of the Classic Old West,” with Historian Peter Boag at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum

October 11, 2019

The Union Pacific Railroad Museum is hosting a lecture by historian Peter Boag on Saturday, October 12 at 1 p.m. Hollywood’s big screen and countless regional novels simplify the American West’s gender complexities with one-dimensional characters such as the lone cowboy, the gun-slinging marshal, the fated cavalry officer, the schoolmarm and the little-house-on-the-prairie mother. Boag offers a different view of the Old West through stories of individuals whose truths subvert common wisdom about the region’s gender stereotypes. Their resistance to societal norms question masculinity and femininity and often resulting in lack of acceptance by their communities. They also encounter hatred, prejudice, and violence toward those who don’t seem to match up to accepted gender (and sexual) stereotypes still experience in the American West of today. Admission is free and the lecture will take place on the museum’s second floor.

Peter Boag earned his Ph.D. at the University of Oregon in 1988. Since then, he has served on the faculties at Idaho State University and the University of Colorado-Boulder. Since 2009 he has served as Columbia Chair in the History of the American West at Washington State University’s Pullman and Vancouver campuses. He is the author of three books, including Re-Dressing America’s Frontier Past, from which he draws his stories. His current research project focuses on rural children of the American West who murdered their parents during the agrarian crisis of the 1890s.

In 2019, the Union Pacific Museum is reflecting upon the 150th anniversary of the completion of the transcontinental railroad, a pivotal moment in American history. Utilizing an enhanced calendar of programming and expanded community partners, this complex history will be explored from multiple perspectives and the shared experiences of people whose personal and family histories have been touched by the railroad. The museum will explore viewpoints from the Chinese, Irish and many others who helped to build the railroad, to indigenous people displaced by the oncoming railroad and the ensuing conflict with the U.S. government.

The museum is located at 200 Pearl St. Council Bluffs, Iowa, and is open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Admission is always free. Please visit www.uprrmuseum.org or call 712-329-8307 for more information.

Railroads in Native America: Reflections on the 150th Anniversary of the Transcontinental Construction

August 15, 2019

September 12-15, 2019

REGISTER NOW

Railroads in Native America is a three-day symposium bringing together scholars, artists, musicians, tribal members and representatives from tribal governments, in partnership with the National Park Service, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, and the University of Nebraska at Omaha. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the union of Central Pacific and Union Pacific railroad tracks at Promontory Summit, Utah. Union Pacific laid their first mile of track in Omaha, Nebraska and historic Mile "zero" is just across the river in Council Bluffs, Iowa.

This historic anniversary prompted the organizing committee to design a symposium that addresses the significant impact of railroads in Indian Country.

Parking Information

Parking for the September 12th reception at the Union Pacific Museum is street-side parking only - meters are Free after 5 pm. Enter on the lower level.

Friday, September 13 - Milo Bail Student Center (Item 18 on the Dodge Campus map) - Nebraska Room 2nd floor: Please park in the EAST PARKING GARAGE (UNO parking map - Dodge Campus item 11). Parking is free in this facility on Friday.

Saturday September 14 and Sunday September 15 - Mammel Hall (UNO parking map - Scott Campus item B). Please park in parking area #5 on the map adjacent to the Mammel Hall facility. There is no charge for parking on Saturday and Sunday.

Schedule

Thursday, September 12 – Union Pacific Railroad Museum

200 Pearl Street, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503

5:30-7:30 p.m. Symposium Welcome Reception

Registration, Self-Guided Tour of Union Pacific Museum

Join us for the welcome reception hosted at the Union Pacific Railroad Museum.
Opening prayer offered by Dr. Rudi Mitchell (Omaha Nation).
Light appetizers provided in a Three Sisters theme

 

Friday, September 13 – Milo Bail Student Center

UNO North Campus, 6203 University Dr N, Omaha, NE 68132

11:30-1:30 Welcome Lunch

Registration

1:30 – 2:45 p.m. – The Transcontinental Railroad’s Impact on California Indian Identity

Nebraska Room

Chair: Manu Karuka, Barnard College
This roundtable will explore the root causes and motivations for the creation of a false narrative about California Indians, driven in part by railroad corporations. The attempts to make the railroad commercially viable were coupled with real estate speculation in California and the need to give California an identity outside of the “wild west” and “49ers” mythology that was prevalent in east coast literature.

Michael Connelly Miskwish (Campo Kumeyaay Nation), San Diego State University
Theresa Gregor (Lipay Nation of Santa Ysabel), California State University-Long Beach

3:00-4:00 p.m. – Creating an “American” Tourist Experience

Nebraska Room

Chair: Elaine Marie Nelson, University of Nebraska-Omaha
Railroad corporations are active participants in tourist industries across the American West, often deploying powerful imagery and ideas about Indian peoples to promote the region and their rail lines. These panelists will explore how railroad tourism of past and present exploits(ed) Indigenous peoples and cultures and distorts(ed) histories of colonization and dispossession.

“Trails and Rails’ in California: Navigating Indigenous, Colonial, and Military Histories On-Board Amtrak’s Coast Starlight Line”

Laura Barraclough, Yale University

“The Making of the Glacier Park Indians: American Tourism and Capitalism in the Blackfeet Nation”

Amanda L. Katz, Carnegie Mellon University


4:15-5:15 p.m. – Sustainable Food Systems in the Wake of Railroad Expansion

Nebraska Room

Chair: Taylor Keen (Omaha/Cherokee), Creighton University and Living Red, LLC.
Aboriginal use and occupancy of lands were forever changed by railroads. Panelists will discuss how the establishment of new trade routes and extractive industries brought invasive species and disrupted habitats, which stressed traditional Indigenous food systems.

Adae Romero-Briones (Cochiti/Kiowa), Pueblo of Cochiti
Hillary Renick (Pomo/Paiute), Sherwood Valley Rancheria


5:30-7:30 p.m. – Keynote Address – Manu Karuka, “Empire’s Tracks”

Nebraska Room

 

 

Saturday, September 14 – Mammel Hall

UNO Scott Campus, 6708 Pine St, Omaha, NE 68106

9:00-11:00 a.m. - Transformation Along the Transcontinental

Auditorium

Chair: Reed Robinson (Sičáŋǧu Lakota), NPS Midwest Tribal Liason
This first transcontinental railroad traversed the forty-second parallel, cutting through Indigenous homelands and forever altering the social, ecological, and economic environments along the route. Together, these panelists offer a diverse set of perspectives—drawing from historical research, family history, and artistic training—to assess the disruptions and legacies of change in this region.

“Native Americans and the Transcontinental Telegraph”

Edmund Russell
Carnegie Mellon University

“Lakota Events During and After the Coming of the Railroad”

Donovin Sprague (Minnicoujou Lakota)
Sheridan College

"Maintaining Our Identity, Beliefs, and Values Since the Arrival of the Ȟemáni"

Paul High Horse (Sičáŋǧu Lakota)
Creighton University

11:30-1:30 Lunch Break

Please take this time to further explore collaborations, conversations, the vendor fair, the Union Pacific Railroad Museum, and the metro area.

1:30-3:30 p.m. - Agents of Colonialism

Auditorium

Chair: Kent Blansett (Cherokee, Creek, Choctaw, Shawnee, and Potawatomi), University of Nebraska at Omaha
Railroad expansion is tied to Indigenous dispossession. These panelists address how corporate and government agents seized Indigenous lands and attacked Indigenous sovereignty in order to construct and operate rail networks. Native Nations dealt with the effects of railroad colonialism by using a variety of strategies.

“Tracks of Dispossession: Legacies of Railroad Allotment in Diné Bikéyah”

Teresa Montoya (Diné), University of Chicago

“The Influence of Railroads on Tribal Lands, Past and Present”

Paul R. Sando, Minnesota State University, Moorhead

“Railroads: Iron Horse Acculturation of Native Nations”

Ben Rhodd (Rosebud Sioux), Tribal Historic Preservation Officer, Rosebud Sioux

“Northward Nation-Building: ‘Ontario’s Development Road’ and the Colonial Expansion of Northern Ontario”

Thomas Blampied, University of Toronto

4:00-6:00 p.m. – Metal Road

Auditorium

Documentary presentation of Metal Road, produced and directed by Sarah Del Seronde

Chair: Desrie Valdez (Navajo), President, Union Pacific’s Council of Native American Heritage
This short documentary film enters the world of Navajo families amid history of railroad work through the lens of one workday on the 9001 Heavy Steel Gang.

6:00-7:30 Symposium Dinner

 

 

Sunday, September 15 – Mammel Hall

UNO Scott Campus, 6708 Pine St, Omaha, NE 68106

9:00-11:00 a.m. - Iron Horses in Native Nations

Auditorium

Chair: Alessandra Link, Indiana University-Southeast
How did Indigenous individuals and Native Nations negotiate, resist, and/or capitalize on railroad expansion? Panelists discuss how Osages, Cherokees, Lagunas, Meskwakis, and others confronted the construction and operation of rail lines through tribal lands.

“ashkotewi-hi-myewi: The ‘Fire Road’ and the Meskwaki Nation”

Erik D. Gooding, Minnesota State University, Moorhead

“The Flower of Friendship: The Story of the Railroad and the Laguna Pueblo Colonies”

Thelma Antonio (Laguna), Environmental and Community Planner

“The Infernal Swindle’: The Osage Nation, the Leavenworth, Lawrence, and Galveston Railroad and the Failed Sturges Treaty”

Alexandria Gough, Thaden School

“Sophisticated Capitalism: Native American Success Resisting and Regulating Railroads in the Indian Territory”

Robert Voss, Northwest Missouri State University

11:15-12:15 p.m. - Closing Keynote, Gerard Baker

Auditorium

Gerard Baker (Hidatsa) – Closing Keynote
Introduced by Mark Weekly

Discussion and closing prayer by Taylor Keen

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FREE Family Night at the Museum First Friday of Every Month

July 26, 2019

Create, Learn, and Play!

Join us the first Friday of every month for a broad range of fun activities featuring many of the amazing organizations in Council Bluffs and Omaha.

September 6  will be Fiesta! Union Pacific's Latino Employee Network is taking the reigns and hosting a fiesta to kick off Latino Heritage Month (Sept 15 - Oct 15). We'll have crafts, games, music and more! Find more information on Facebook.

NEW TIME: Family Night are now open later! Join us from 5:30-8:00pm

Family night is always free and open to all.

 

What's Next?

  • October 4: Harvest
  • November 1: Bison Night
  • December 6: Trainapalooza!
  • January 3: Pajama Jam

2019 Museum Special Excursion

May 21, 2019

Union Pacific's newly restored Big Boy locomotive No. 4014 will pull a special fundraising excursion benefitting the Union Pacific Museum July 15, 2019. The train consisting of rare passenger cars will travel from Omaha, Nebraska, through western Iowa to Boone, where guests will disembark the train and luxury motor coach back to Omaha.

Seats aboard the Big Boy No. 4014 steam train that will travel on Union Pacific tracks are limited. Ticket holders will be invited to stay the weekend and experience Railroad Days free of charge.

Tickets, ranging in price from $400-$750, will be available for sale to the general public on May 28. Passengers must be 18 years or older to board. Patrons of the Union Pacific Museum will be offered advance opportunity to purchase tickets.

Big Boy No. 4014 was delivered to Union Pacific in December 1941. The locomotive was retired in December 1961, having traveled 1,031,205 miles in its 20 years in service. Union Pacific reacquired No. 4014 from the Rail Giants Museum in Pomona, California, in 2013, and relocated it back to Cheyenne to begin restoration.

This excursion is the annual signature gala event for the nonprofit, Union Pacific Museum, that provides world class exhibits and programming to the public. The Union Pacific Museum was named again in 2019 as the best museum in the state of Iowa by the 24/7 Wall Street Journal, and recently as the 3rd best transportation museum in the U.S. The museum annually hosts visitors from the local community and around the world.

Additional information about how to become a patron is available on the Union Pacific Museum’s website at www.uprrmuseum.org and ticket information for the trip is available at www.uptraintix.com.

The Union Pacific Museum is located at 200 Pearl St. Council Bluffs, Iowa, and is open from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Thursday through Saturday. Admission is always free. Please visit www.uprrmuseum.org or call 712-329-8307 for more information.

To find out more about local events surrounding the 150th in 2019 visit: https://www.unleashcb.com/sites/anniversary/.

For Railroad Days information: http://www.omaharailroaddays.com/.

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